Photos of the Day

April 11 - San Francisco Bay

Today's Photos of the Day were taken by
Chris Ray and come from the Collegiate Regatta held at the St.
Francis YC, with help from Stanford and the Golden Gate YC. According
to Ray, 30 teams came from all over the West Coast and Midwest
to compete. "And what's not to like?" he asked rhetorically.
"Close starts, lots of hiking action, some carnage, and
a good crowd basking in the warm sunshine. As of Saturday evening,
Cal Irvine was in front, followed by Stanford and USC."

Photos Courtesy Chris Ray

What's New in Newport Beach?

April 11 - Newport Beach

Newport Beach has always been a great place
for visiting cruisers, as they've got a nearly unlimited number
of moorings available, and they're only $5 a night - which for
Profligate, is a savings of $41 a night over Catalina.
The problem at Newport has always been where to land your dinghy.
There's an unlimited-time dinghy dock near the Coast Guard station,
but all the other docks around the long and narrow bay were limited
to something like 20 minutes. That didn't leave enough time to
shop or go to a restaurant.

Photos Latitude/Richard

When in Newport this last weekend, signs
posted around the little docks indicated a great improvement.
As you can see, depending on where you tie up on the little dock,
you can legally stay anywhere from 20 minutes to 12 hours. This
makes life much easier for visiting mariners, for which the Orange
County Sheriff's Department, who is in charge of such stuff,
is to be commended.

Also relatively new - and in time for the
start of the Ensenada Race - are new heads and showers by the
Coast Guard station. Because of the abuse such heads receive
from the general public, they have to be the nearly-indestructible
San Quentin type. Nonetheless, the showers now feature hot water
- in fact, almost too hot water - a commodity that was lacking
in the old ones. So while you don't want to use them expecting
Four Seasons opulence, and you definitely want to remember to
wear flip-flops, the showers are certainly functional.

Doha
Wins Oryx Quest

April 11 - Qatar

Brian Thompson, who used to kick around
Sausalito when crewing on Steve Fossett's trimaran Lakota,
guided the 110-ft maxi-cat Doha (ex-Club Med) across
the finish line last weekend off Doha, Qatar, to take honors
in the first ever Oryx Quest around-the-world race. He and his
crew finished in just under 63 days, more than 10 days off the
around-the-world record recently set by Bruno Peyron and Orange
II. Thompson was lucky to have finished the race at all,
having been hit flush in the face by a block.

The Oryx Quest, which is the doing of Brit Tracy Edwards, the
arch-enemy of Bruno Peyron, was something of a flop. Two of the
four starters broke. These included Olivier de Kersauson's maxi-tri
Geronimo, a very viable contender, which had to drop out
with repeated structural problems. Also knocked out was Fossett's
maxi-cat Playstation, the former around-the-world record
holder, which was dismasted. Fossett was not aboard. That left
Daedalus, a great but much-dated mini-maxi cat as Doha's
only competition. While the event got quite a bit of press in
the Arab world, it evoked very little interest in Europe or the
U.S.

Volunteers Needed for the America's Cup

April 11 - The Sailing World

Got time on your hands? Enjoy the America's
Cup? Have enough money to survive in Europe with the strong euro?
Then you may want to be a volunteer for the America's Cup. They've
got almost 50 different position, from regatta operations to
hospitality. Check them out at www.americascup.com.